The Night Things Changed
by xcountrygurlx
Summary: Takes place during the season 1 finale. How I thought season 2 should have gone. Zoe and Wade get themselves in a situation that forces them to be around each other all the time. Will they learn to coexist or will they take things to the next level?
1. Chapter 1

The Night Things Changed

I watched him run to his house from the back of Sheriff Bill's squad car. He pulled his shirt up over his head in an attempt to get dry before he turned around and looked at me. We made eye contact and I felt myself smile. He gave me a small smile in return before retreating inside his house. I faced forward and counted down the seconds until Bill pulled up in front of the carriage house and I would no longer be stuck in these wet clothes with my hair all frizzy. I thanked him for rescuing us and for supplying our ride back into town before darting into the house. I waved back at him as a way of saying that he was okay to leave. He pulled away and I turned to the Gatehouse. His lights were on, he was getting ready for the wedding, I presume. I let a small smile creep up my face before finally seeking refuge under my roof.

I showered, but all I could think about was Wade. Today was the first serious conversation Wade and I ever had, it seemed. He had been so honest with me, and that was a turn on, I had to admit. I got out of the shower and pulled on my fluffy robe. I dried my hair and peeked out the window at the storm. I looked outside to check the weather, but subconscious allowed my eyes to wander to Wade's.

An idea popped into my head and I turned on my new espresso machine. I waited the few seconds until I heard the pop and sizzle of the fuse box. I watched out my window as I saw his lights flick off. The next two minutes I prepared quickly for my rash, last minute decision. I fluffed my hair up and put on a thin coat of lip gloss. Then I heard the inevitable knock on my door and looked up to see him, standing in the rain, dressed in his suit, staring at me through the screen door. I stared back for a second before he took the initiative and pulled the door open and walked over to me slowly. His eyes were soft, but had a flicker of daredevil in them. He confidently put his lips on mine and pushed me up against the wall. He pulled away slightly, only to attack me with his tongue seconds later. The rain poured down on the roof, making a white noise in the background.

I took a deep breath, looking up into his eyes. Then I bit my bottom lip and led him into my bedroom.

I woke up next to a naked Wade the next morning and was mentally cursing myself. Why did I do that? That only complicates my life even more than it already was. I mean, of course I had felt something last night with Wade, but now he was probably going to read into this, and think that I liked him and wanted to have a relationship, which in fact was the opposite of what I wanted. I didn't even know what I wanted anymore. Wade was such a player and we didn't normally go for girls like me, and I didn't normally go for guys like him. I quietly tiptoed out of bed and quietly shut the door behind me, grabbing my clothes on the way out. I slipped them on and went over to the main house.

"Lavon, wake up. Come on! I need you now more than ever! Get up!" I groaned as I poked him in the sides.

"What could possibly be so important that you are at my bedside at seven in the morning on a Sunday?" Lavon asked without even opening his eyes.

"I need your advice."

"There's a big surprise." He said sarcastically, obviously not in the mood to chat.

"Lavon, this is important." I whined, hoping he would observe the urgency in my tone.

"Alright, I'm up. What is it?" He asked, finally opening his eyes and sitting up.

"I slept with Wade last night."

"My boy. Good for him." Lavon smiled, which only made me more angry.

"Lavon, this is no joking matter. This is serious. What do I do?" I asked, sitting next to him on his bed.

"Well, if you really want my advice, I'd say that you should give Wade a shot. George called off his wedding last night, but he didn't go get you; he ran off. Who knows when George will be back, but Wade is here now, and I think he deserves a chance." Lavon said. I nodded, and for once, I think I was going to take his advice. I was wasting my time waiting for George to pick me over Lemon and I wasn't going to be someone's doormat anymore. I stood up and abruptly left the main house and made my way back to the carriage house, only to find Wade awake and dressed, on his way out.

"Trying to sneak out?" I asked him when we came face to face.

"I was going to, but it looks like you beat me to it." He said in his southern accent that made me melt on the inside, though I would never admit it to him.

"Hey Wade, can we talk about last night?" I said confidently, knowing it was now or never.

"Doc, there isn't much to talk about. I think we're on the same page here, right? It was a one-time thing. You don't need to give me any excuses." He smiled and my smile faded when he said that.

"Oh, yeah, right. A one-time thing." I nodded. I guess he really was over me like he tried to convince me in the barn yesterday.

"I'll see you around Doc." He said slowly before walking down the steps of the front porch and trekking back to his house. I put my bottom lip between my teeth and bit down hard. I hadn't realized what I was doing until I could taste blood.

I shook my head, rolled my eyes, and made my way back into my house. So much for giving things between us a shot.

2_ months later…_

"I'm starting to think that you hang around here just because you're ready for round two." Wade chuckled as he placed a wine glass in front of me.

"Don't flatter yourself." I rolled my eyes, smirked, and took my wine glass over to a table that Rose had saved for us. Things between Wade and I weren't awkward, which was nice, but that didn't keep him from teasing me about that night. Lavon had been disappointed that nothing had become of Wade and myself, but it was nice to just spend time on myself, and my friends, and not have to worry about impressing anyone.

"So Rose, fill me in. What's the latest drama?" I said taking a sip of my wine. After the first few sips though, I didn't feel great. I pushed the wine further away from me, and tried to listen to Rose and block out the onset of nausea that had come over me suddenly. I resorted to breathing through only my mouth, but that didn't work for long. I made a hand gesture to Rose and sprinted outside. I could hear her calling my name, but I knew I would much rather puke outside than inside in front of everyone, including Wade.

I made it to the outskirts of the parking lot when I finally bent over and released the contents of my stomach onto the ground. I crouched down, trying to hold my hair out of my face.

"Geez Doc, you really are just so classy. If you wanted to have another go at this, you didn't have to come out here and impress me like that." I heard his voice, but I wasn't in a state to answer. I had just caught my breath only to feel the bile rising in my throat again. I could hear footsteps behind me, but paid no attention to them. I knew it was him when his warm, rough hands touched my back gently. His smell surrounded me, and it was still undetermined if that was a good thing or bad.

"Hey, let's get you home, okay?" His voice was now soft and comforting, with a hint of concern. I nodded and he led me to his car. I fell gently into the passenger seat and he mumbled something I didn't quite understand and left. I shut my eyes again as the ache in my stomach subsided for now, but an ache in my head replaced it. I put my hand to my head and tried not to think about this sudden illness or the embarrassment I had just caused myself.

Wade finally joined me in the car and put the keys into the ignition. We didn't speak on the way home, and I was glad for it. I think he sensed that I wasn't in the mood for any of his lame jokes, so he kept his mouth shut.

We pulled into the plantation and finally my house. I stumbled out the door and thanked him, only to sense his presence following me up the steps to my door.

"I'm fine, really Wade. Thanks." I said, opening the door.

"Let me jus help you to bed. I'd feel a lot better if I knew you actually made it to the bed and didn't pass out on the floor or something." He said timidly. I didn't object and went to my room to put on pajamas. He came in when I was almost done and I instinctively covered myself up.

"Ain't nothing I haven't seen before Doc, relax." He said putting a bottle of water on the nightstand as I finished pulling a t-shirt over my head. I climbed into bed after swallowing the aspirin I had in my hand. He stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Well, I hope you feel better Doc. Come get me if you need anything." He whispered and turned the light out. It was only a matter of seconds after that that I fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The blaring sun woke me up the next morning. My headache was gone, thankfully, but my stomach still felt off. I got out of bed and took a few steps towards the door before my body had a different idea. Thankfully, I made it to the bathroom just in time to kneel in front of the toilet. A few minutes later, I knew I was done because there was no possible way there was anything left inside of me to throw up. I wiped my mouth and stood up to brush my teeth. I checked my appearance in the mirror, and it wasn't too bad given that I had thrown up twice in the past twelve hours. It was really hot though, the air conditioning must be broken. I changed out of my sweatpants and put on a pair of my loosest, shortest shorts and a tank top to hopefully allow some air flow near my body. I opened all my windows and made a mental note to ask Wade to look at the unit before the day was over. I opened my door to go get some coffee in my small kitchenette, only to find Wade asleep on my couch.

"Wade, what are you doing?" I asked, not entirely surprised. He didn't answer, but he rolled over. I yelled at him again and his eyes began to flutter open.

"Morning Doc."

"Good morning. Now what are you doing sleeping on my couch?"

"Well when I brought you home last night, I didn't know if you were going to be sick again, so I thought I would hang around, just to make sure you were okay." He said sitting up.

"Oh, yeah, I feel okay now. Thanks." His gesture was nice, and it made me think that maybe he did have feelings for me.

"I try not to over serve Doc." He said and I laughed.

"I wasn't drunk Wade, it must have been like a 12 hour bug or something." He cracked a smile and stood up from the couch.

"I'll see you later Doc." He narrowed his eyes at me and nodded. I gave him a small smile in return.

"Thanks again for last night!" I called after him as he was on his way out of my door.

"Oh, Wade! I think my air conditioning is broken! Do you think you could look at it sometime?" I asked, running out the door to catch up with him.

"Yeah, I can look at it this afternoon." I smiled again and he retreated back to his house.

I brought my coffee out to the porch with me since it was just too hot inside. I stared at the lake, knowing that it was probably cool and refreshing. That was the thing about Alabama, it seemed like it was always hot. At least in New York there were cold days mixed in there, but not in Bluebell. They were all hot days down here. The lake seemed more and more appealing, but it just reminded me of those dreams I had of Wade in the lake. Even though he was super annoying most of the time, he was hot. I had to admit it, he was attractive. His personality, not so much, but if he didn't talk, he would be the perfect guy. It was his mouth that got him into trouble.

I shook my head of these thoughts and went to take a shower. A really cold one. Feeling refreshed, I got ready for work. I walked to work, which just made me feel gross again because of the heat. It was sticky out, and it wasn't pleasant. I finally made it to the office and sighed of relief when the cool air rushed over me.

"Good morning Dr. Hart. How are we this morning?" Brick asked, looking through some papers.

"Awful," I groaned, "The air is out at my place, and it's about a hundred and five degrees out. I was wick yesterday, and I still don't feel myself. I just want this day to be over."

"Well, this is an awful time to have the air go off at your place. We're expecting a heat wave over the next few days." Brick informed me. Of course we were. The timing of things that happened in Bluebell just made it seem like the world was out to get me.

"Who do we have today?" I asked him, taking a stack of papers.

"We have Shula, of course, and Timmy Greener got into some poison ivy, Tom Long is coming in for an allergy shot, and then whoever else has an emergency of some sorts. It's going to be a pretty easy day." I nodded. That was a good thing at least.

The day went pretty well and around lunchtime, my phone started to ring and I saw that it was Wade.

"Hello?"

"Hey, so I looked at your air conditioner unit, and it needs a new part. I ordered it, but it said that the estimated time of delivery is about two weeks."

"So you're telling me that I won't have air conditioning for two weeks?" I said unbelievably. This just ruined my day. Even more, it ruined my next two weeks.

"Unless the part gets delivered early."

"Of course. The world is out to get Zoe Hart. My air conditioning blows right before a massive heat wave." I rolled my eyes at the irony.

"Listen, I know Lavon's out of town, so you can stay with me the next few days, if you want." Wade offered. I contemplated in my head quickly.

"Fine, but no funny business."

"No ma'am." I heard him chuckle.

"I mean it Wade!" I said before hanging up the phone. I left the practice early because we didn't have many patients. They probably were all relaxing in their nice, cool houses. I walked back to the Carriage house and gathered some of my things to take to Wade's. I got a duffle bag out of the closet and packed some clothes into it, for work and to sleep in, and then I went to the bathroom to grab my toiletries. I put my toothbrush, my toothpaste, some towels because only God knew if anything Wade had over at his house was clean, my shampoo and conditioner, my body wash, and I stopped when my hands landed on the box of tampons under the sink. I thought I might need them because it had been a while since my last period, but I knew Wade would be weirded out if I brought them, so I would only if I absolutely had to. I did the math in my head, trying to think back to my last period. When I couldn't do the math, I went to look at my calendar.

I guess I did do the math right in my head, I thought as I saw that my last period was over a month and a half ago. My brain stopped thinking about everything else and shut down. I froze, thinking that if I didn't move, maybe this wasn't happening. I knew it was inevitable so I quickly packed the rest of my stuff, dropped it on Wade's porch since he wasn't home and headed back to the office. Thankfully, Brick was gone for the day and we were closed, so I was alone in the office. I went into the supply room and found what I was looking for immediately. I went into the bathroom, took the test, and waited. I was doing math the whole time, trying to figure out exactly what day Wade and I had sex, and how that correlated with my cycle, and before I knew it, my phone was beeping. I could check now. For some reason though, it felt wrong. Should Wade be here when I find out? I quickly shook that thought out of my head, knowing that if it was negative, I would have freaked him out over nothing. I quickly picked up the test, knowing it was now or never.

_Pregnant. _The digital test was never up for interpretation. There were no faded lines or hard to tell symbols. It would either say 'Pregnant' or 'Not Pregnant.' Mine just happened to say 'Pregnant.' I put the test down and ran my hands through my hair. I covered my eyes and gulped, trying to suppress the tears that were threatening to fall. I took the test back to my desk and waited for a few minutes, hoping the test would suddenly change its mind. When it didn't, I stopped to think. Wade was going to freak out, rather, the whole town was going to freak out. Wade and I aren't even together. I knew I had to tell him, seeing as it would be pretty hard to keep it from him while I'm living in his house for the next two weeks. What were we going to do? I mean, it's not like we're too young or anything, or not financially stable enough to have a baby, but neither of us are ready. I guess that's what the next nine months are for. Or I guess it's more like seven now. This was really happening. I knew I couldn't make any decisions without talking to Wade first, so I gathered my things, threw a few extra tests in my purse, along with the one I already took, and left for the Rammer Jammer.

"Hey Wanda, where's Wade?" I asked as I entered the building.

"He left about an hour ago, said something about having a house guest he wanted to straighten up for." I smiled, at least the place would be semi-clean then.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Wanda asked. I really wish there was.

"Oh, no, I just had to ask Wade something. Thanks anyway." I said and left. I sighed, knowing that I had to head to his place.

I made my way down the oath of the plantation until I finally approached his house to see him drinking a beer on his porch.

"Howdy Doc." He said as I climbed the stairs and sat on a chair across from him. I smiled timidly.

"Can I getcha a beer?" He asked, getting up to grab one.

"I wish, but no, I don't want one." I said, and he sat back down.

"So the coolant in your unit was leaking, so I ordered a new reservoir-"

"Wade, I have to tell you something." I cut him off. The air conditioner review could wait. That was the last thing on my mind. I tried not to notice how much the heat was bothering me right now. It was probably a combination of the heat wave and my nerves.

"Okay…" He said nervously. He must have picked up on the urgent tone in my voice because he stopped talking right away.

"I really didn't think about how I was going to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it. I'm pregnant." I said quickly, taking a deep breath when I finished. I didn't dare look up at him.

He was silent for the first few minutes.

"Well um, okay. Are you sure you took the test correctly?" He asked nervously.

"You pee on a stick, it's idiot proof."

"No, yeah, I know, it's just, one time. Wow." He stuttered, and I couldn't blame him.

"Yeah."

"So, what do you want to do?" He asked, looking up at me, meeting my eyes.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"I just found out. You're the girl, don't you get to decide?"

"I just found out too! Like twenty minutes before you did!" I yelled, getting frustrated.

"Shit."

"Yeah." I put my head in my hands. He didn't say anything for a while.

"So you're really pregnant? Like 100% sure?"

"I mean, I took a test. But I brought some more, so I guess I could take another one." I shrugged, pulling them out of my purse. He led me inside and I went to his bathroom, which was cleaner than normal. I laid all four sticks on the sink and opened the door. He joined me in the bathroom, sitting next to me on the edge of the bathtub.

We didn't talk for the next four minutes until my phone went off. I stayed where I was, but he stood up to look at them. I guess I was already convinced from seeing the first test, but he didn't get to see that.

"They're all positive." He stated, looking back at me. I nodded, knowing that's how they would turn out.

"Now what?" He asked, taking his seat again next to me.

"Now I'll make an appointment with the doctor in Mobile and she'll confirm what we already know, she'll do a blood test, and check everything out."

"Okay. So are we really going to do this?" He asked, but not in an insulting way.

"I think so. I really think we are. Well, I am. You don't have to do anything if you don't want to. I mean, I'm not going to like hold you responsible or anything-"

"Zoe." He cut me off. "I'm going to be here. Of course I want to be here." He said, wrapping me in a hug. There was no sexual tension or awkwardness. I needed him right now and he needed me.

"It's all going to be okay." He assured me.

"We're having a baby." He said with a smile on his face.

"Yes we are." I said and laughed through my tears.

"Everyone's going to freak out." He chuckled. I nodded.

"I'm going to make that call." I told him, standing up.

"I'll start dinner." He said. I stepped onto the porch and called the hospital. They connected me through and made an appointment for two days from now, Wednesday at 4. I went back inside and saw Wade boiling water.

"Whatcha making?"

"Some pasta. Is that alright?" I nodded and sat at the table.

"So with this situation we've gotten ourselves into, how is this all going to work?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like can we really raise a kid in two houses?" He asked.

"I haven't really thought about it. We'll figure it out, we have like seven months before the baby comes." I said and he nodded.

"So my appointment is Wednesday at 4, do you want to come?"

"Of course, but I might be working. I'll try to get off." He reassured.

We ate dinner and then I was pretty tired, so I was going to go to bed.

"I hate to be a party pooper and all, but I'm going to hit the hay, I'm super tired." I said before making my way into his small bathroom to get ready for bed. I changed into a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top because even though Wade's air conditioning worked, it was still muggy. I put my hair up in a bun on the top of my head and washed my face. After brushing my teeth, I emerged from the bathroom to see Wade lounging on the couch.

"Scoot over." I said, knocking his feet to the ground. He playfully rolled his eyes and moved down so I could sit there. He turned the TV on.

"I thought you were going to bed." He asked after a few minutes.

"Well yeah, but you're kind of on my bed." I said obviously.

"No, take the bed, it's fine. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Wade this is your house! I'm not going to make you sleep on the couch." I reasoned.

"Well you're carrying my baby, and my baby isn't sleeping on the couch." He said, popping the lid off of a beer.

"Speaking of your baby, what are we going to tell people?" I asked timidly. I didn't have a full feel for how Wade was handling this yet, so I didn't want to keep bringing it up, even though it was sort of inevitable.

"I haven't even thought about that. When do you want to tell everyone?" He asked, his eyes fixated on the game that was.

"Well I'm about two months, and usually women don't start to show until 12 weeks, but it could really be any time now. I mean bloating will probably happen pretty soon, but that shouldn't be too noticeable unless I wear like tight shirts."

"Okay, so that doesn't answer my question." Wade cracked a smile.

"Well we probably have a few weeks before it will be obvious that I'm pregnant, so should we just wait until then?"

"I think it would be better to wait a few weeks because the less the town knows, the better. For right now at least." Wade suggested. I nodded.

"Now get your butt to bed!" He said, shooing me off the couch.

"Okay, okay. I'm going." I said, standing up. Halfway there I turned around.

"Hey Wade?"

"Yeah?" He responded, looking over the couch.

"I'm really sorry. I know this kind of ruins your whole lifestyle of being a playboy and all." I said sheepishly.

"Doc, I know that this is unchartered waters for the both of us, but we're going to be okay. I mean, yeah, I was shocked when you told me, and yeah, I'm scared as hell, but that doesn't mean for a second that I don't want this baby." He said walking over to me. He put his hands on my waist.

"You mean that?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Of course I do. I wouldn't have this any other way. I know it's going to be hard, and we're going to butt heads a lot, but it's all going to be worth it. This baby," he said touching my stomach, "is a part of you, and a part of me." He smiled.

"This child is going to be the devil. A part of _you_ and a part of _me_? Think of the mouth this kid is going to have. We're doomed!" I said, thinking how much this child was going to hate Wade and me. Wade only laughed.

"You're probably right, but that's okay. I'm still going to love this kid, no matter what. We'll all be fine, I promise." He said, pulling me into a hug. I had to go up on my tiptoes, even though he leaned down. We slowly pulled apart and our eyes met. Before my common sense kicked in, I reached up and kissed him. He didn't act surprised or anything, he just kissed me back. He tried to deepen in, but I pulled away.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." I looked away embarrassed.

"We made a baby and you're worried about kissing me?" He said softly. I blushed in response.

"Get to bed Doc. You're gonna need the rest." He kissed the top of my head and sent me off to his room. I felt bad taking his bed, but if he was going to insist, I wasn't going to turn it down.

I heard him rustling through his drawers trying to find something to wear to bed a few hours later, but other than that, I slept better than I had most nights. I felt safe here.

I woke up the next morning when a feeling of nausea came over me. I sprinted to the bathroom, unknowingly slamming the door behind me. This sure did suck. I heaved over the toilet for the next few minutes before Wade stumbled in after me.

"What's going on? Is it the baby?" He asked, still half asleep.

"I'm fine, it's just morning sickness." I mumbled, my head still half in the toilet. He rubbed my back and then left me for a few minutes, returning with a glass of water. I thanked him, and then brushed my teeth. It was only when I got up did I realize that he was shirtless. I stared for a few seconds before I caught myself, and then I blushed.

"You know Doc, since you're living here and all, you're going to have to get used to seeing my shirtless. I know I'm hot, you don't have to tell me." He joked and I rolled my eyes, playing off the fact that I actually was admiring him.

"Are ya hungry? Want to go to Lavon's for breakfast? I heard him roll in late last night."

"I'm not really hungry, but I should probably eat something." He nodded and we made our way over to Lavon's.

"What's up buddy? How was your trip?" I asked Lavon as soon as I spotted him in his kitchen.

"It was alright, the usual mayoral business. What have you guys been up to the last couple of days?" He looked at us and Wade and I briefly met eyes, but quickly looked away.

"Nothing really." "Just the usual." Wade and I replied at the same time, and then we laughed.

"You guys are acting funny. What's going on?"

"Nothing Lavon, I promise." I said laughing.

"Why did you guys come together?" He asked suspiciously.

"My air conditioner's out and needed a new part, so Wade ordered it for me, but I'm staying at his place until it comes, you know with this heat wave and all." I explained.

"Oh, well now that I'm back in town, you can stay here. I've got the extra bedroom so you don't have to sleep on the couch." Lavon offered.

"Oh, I didn't sleep on the couch." I said without thinking.

"Nahhh. No, no. You guys said you were done with this stuff. And even if you aren't, I don't want to hear about your sexual escapades. You guys didn't do anything in my house, right?" I mentally cursed myself. What was I thinking?

"Oh, no Lavon. You've got it all wrong. I slept in his bed without him. He took the couch."

"So you're saying Wade Kinsella was actually chivalrous?" Lavon asked stunned. Wade rolled his eyes.

"I can be a gentleman when I want to be." He defended.

"Well, still, you can sleep here now so everyone can have a bed." He restated. I thought quickly how I could get myself out of this one. If I stayed in the main house, he would obviously know I'm pregnant with the morning sickness and all. And plus, I felt safe at Wade's place because he takes care of me there.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna stay at Wade's…" Was all I could come up with.

"Why?" Lavon looked at me like I was nuts. Wade looked at me nervously, biting his lower lip.

"Alright, somebody better tell me what the hell is going on because y'all know Lavon Hayes hates being left out." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the two of us. I glanced at Wade, and he shrugged his shoulders at me.

"Okay, well I'm staying at Wade's because I'm pregnant?" I said as more of a question than a statement.

"WHAT?" Lavon exclaimed. He looked at the two of us for an explanation, but I couldn't think of anything to say and Wade was grinning like a fool.

"Are you guys joking? Because this is messed up if you are."

"Nope, we're not. She took five tests, all positive." Wade said.

"And it's yours?" Wade then looked at me.

"I sure hope so, otherwise things are about to get real awkward."

"Yes it's yours. Idiots." I mumbled under my breath.

"I still can't believe this. This child is going to be a menace." Lavon said. Like we didn't know that already.

"I know. But please don't tell anyone or say anything about it. We're trying to keep it a secret until at least the first trimester is over and I start to show. Then chances of miscarriage are significantly decreased and my morning sickness should be over. So that's a month. Can you keep it a secret for that long?" I eyed the both of them, raising my eyebrow.

"Of course, I won't say anything." Lavon said and Wade nodded.

"Okay, well I'm going to get something to eat, and then I'm going to shower, and go to work. I don't want to hear any gossip about this because one of you slipped up, okay?" I warned, and they both nodded.

"Ughh, why is it so hot? I think pregnancy has made me more sensitive to heat. This is awful." I groaned as Wade and I walked back to his place.

"I don't know, it's going to be a scorcher today." He said, looking up to the sky.

"Well I think it's too hot for me to be pregnant or I'm too pregnant to be out in this heat."

"I think it's the latter of the two Doc. Stay inside today. I don't want you running all around town when it's this hot." I rolled my eyes.

"Wade, I can still do my job. I'm not disabled, I'm just pregnant." I joked.

"Well, just try to stay in the air conditioning. I don't want anything bad happening." He said and I smiled a bit. Since I told him yesterday, I've really seen a new side to him. He's protective, and caring. He's been really sweet so far. I just hope it stays like this.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, I got off for this afternoon. Should I pick you up at the practice?" Wade asked me this morning when he was dropping me off at work.

"I don't know, don't you think people will be suspicious when they see us getting in the car together and going places?" I said, looking around.

"We're in the car together now, aren't we?" he asked, looking around too.

"Yes, but it's 8 in the morning. No one is outside yet. We're talking about getting in your car, with you, and going to a hospital in the middle of the afternoon. What if someone sees us? Or worse, follows us!" I exclaimed.

"Doc, no one is going to follow us for forty minutes to watch us go into a doctor's office. And so what if they do? They're going to know soon enough anyway." He laughed at my neurotic thought process.

"Fine. Pick me up here at 3:00." I gave a half smile and he pulled away.

"Morning Brick." I said as I passed him in the lobby.

"Good morning Zoe! We have a ton of patients scheduled for today, so I hope you're ready to work."

"Okay, but I actually have to take off at 3."

"Dr. Hart, now you just had the last two weekends off. Why could you possibly have to take off today, on one of our busiest days?" Brick was angry because he would have to make up for all the work I was missing.

"I have a doctor's appointment at 4 in Mobile." I said, flipping through the mail.

"Okay, well you have a competent doctor right here!"

"Brick, it' confidential for right now. I don't want to whole town knowing yet." I said, stressed out.

"Zoe, what are you talking about? Are you sick?" He asked, now concerned.

"No, I'm not sick." I said, turning away from him, tired of this game.

"Then you're pregnant!" He exclaimed. My eyes widened, and it's a good thing I wasn't facing him because my face would have given it away.

"No! Who would the father even be?"

"I don't know, you are from New York, you could sleep around and I would have no idea."

"Well, you're wrong. I don't sleep around and I'm not pregnant!" I felt bad lying to him, but we already spilled the beans to Lavon, and the more people that knew, the greater the chance that this secret of ours will get out. I stormed into my office, glad to have some refuge from Brick's constant questioning.

I felt a headache start to come on and I took some aspirin for it. I sat don at my desk and looked at my schedule for the day. Brick wasn't lying when he said we would have a full day. My first patient was Wanda, who had scheduled because she was having a sore throat.

"Alright Wanda, well you rest up and take these antibiotics and in two weeks, if the swelling hasn't gone down, come back and we'll look into scheduling you for a tonsillectomy." I told her as she got ready to leave. She thanked me and was gone. My headache hadn't yet subsided, so I laid my head down in my hands for a few moments since I didn't have a patient for another 20 minutes. I heard my door open and someone walk in, so I looked up.

"Wade, what're you doing here? It's not 3 yet." I asked, sitting up slightly in my chair.

"Yeah, I know. I cut my finger slicing tomatoes at the Rammer Jammer and I think it's gonna need some stitches." He said, removing the dishcloth from his hand to show me the wound.

"Yeah, it looks like it. Here, sit down, let me clean it." I said standing up and moving to the cabinets that held supplies. I stopped for a minute and held my head, waiting for the dizziness that had overcome me to subside.

"You alright there Doc?" Wade asked from his spot on the exam table.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired I think. I didn't sleep well last night."

"Yeah, I know. I could hear ya throwing up all the way down the hall." He cracked a smile and I nodded.

"It was not pretty." I agreed, making my way back to the exam table. I moved the overhead light so I could see his finger better. I cleaned it with antiseptic and got the bleeding to stop.

"It looks like you'll need nine or so stitches. I'm going to have to numb you up for that." I explained and he nodded. I knew he wasn't a fan of needles, so I tried to think of something to distract him while I gave him the shot.

"Brick thinks I'm pregnant." I blurted out.

"Does he now? And what did you say to that?" Wade chuckled lightly, trying to mask the pain he was in.

"I said 'No, I'm not pregnant!' And ran away." I laughed and he did too.

"Well that's fine with me." He said. I stitched him up and bandaged him.

"You are good to go. I'll check it later tonight to make sure it holds. But other than that, keep it wrapped for about a week, and then I'll take them out. Oh, and you can't go back to work today because your whole hand will be pretty numb for a few more hours." I instructed.

"Okay, that's fine with me. Wally's there and not too many people came in today. How about I grab us some lunch and bring it back here and then we head out early for the appointment?" He suggested.

"I would really love to, but I have so many patients to see, I probably won't even get a lunch break." I gave him a sad smile, and he nodded.

"You really should eat something though."

"You just can't wait to see me get fat."

"You hit the nail on the head Doc." He smiled and left, shouting "I'll be here at 3!" I cringed, hoping Brick didn't hear that. If he did, he definitely won't let his pregnancy theory go.

I saw the rest of my patients and the day flew by because there was no down time. I checked my watch when my last patient was leaving. It was 2:50, perfect timing.

"Brick, I'm going to leave, okay?" I shouted and he mumbled something back about how it isn't fair that I can be pregnant and get all this time off and he can't.

I left through the front door of the office and felt the hot air surround me. It felt like I was drowning in it. I looked around the small parking lot, figuring Wade wouldn't be here yet. I should have just waited inside. I was on my way back inside when Wade's car pulled up. I got in the passenger side.

"I never pictured you would be early." I teased.

"Of course I'm early. I'm excited." He stated.

"Wow. Wade Kinsella is exciting about an OB-GYN appointment. That's something I never thought I'd hear."

"I'm just excited to see the baby."

"We may not even get to see the baby today. And if we do, it will look nothing like a baby."

"I know that, but it's all just exciting stuff." He smiled. That made me happy because I knew how excited he was about this baby. He was handling this totally different than I thought he would. I thought that he would freak out and want me to consider other options. He's never shown this sort of commitment towards anything before.

"Yeah, it is." I squeezed his hand, which was on the stick shift, for reassurance. I could tell he was a bit nervous, and to be honest, so was I.

We finally arrived at the OB-GYN in Mobile and I went to the receptionist's desk in sign in.

Wade nervously bounced his leg while I read a parenting magazine as we waited.

"Wade, are you trying to fly away over there? Geez, calm down." I said, putting my hand on his knee to cease the shaking.

"Sorry." He said, a bit embarrassed. He felt awkward here, and I understand that, but the whole room was shaking.

"Zoe Hart?" A nurse called my name and I got up and followed her. Wade looked around nervously, not knowing what to do.

"Well are you coming or not?" I turned around and asked him, already halfway out of the waiting room. He immediately got up and followed me.

"Here, we'll get your weight and blood pressure first, and then the doctor will see you after we take some blood." The nurse informed me, but I was no stranger to the procedures.

"Wade stood against the wall as I was weighed and my blood pressure was taken, not wanting to be in the way. He had to look away when they drew blood because of his fear of needles, even though he would never admit that.

"How do you expect to be in the delivery room if you can't even watch me get blood taken?" I laughed at him and he bit his bottom lip.

"I didn't really know if you'd want me there." He said timidly. The nurse smiled and I rolled my eyes. She then led us back to a private room and gave me a gown to change in to. Wade turned around while I put the gown on.

"Can you tie this for me?" I asked and he turned around. His warm, rough hands went first to my neck to tie the first set of strings. He gently pushed my hair out of the way. Then, his hands traveled south and tied the strings right above my butt. His hands felt nice on my lower back, seeing as it was freezing in here.

"Thanks." I gave him a small smile of gratitude and hopped up on the exam table. He nodded.

"What are those for, it's like you're going to be giving birth to a horse!" He exclaimed looking at the stirrups. I couldn't help but laugh.

"I sure hope not."

"Me too. Babies tend to be a little cuter." He smiled at me.

"Hey, Wade, um, just so you know, this appointment might get a little…awkward? It's just that, depending on how far along I am, they may do a sonogram, or a, uh, vaginal ultrasound." I said, trying to figure the right words to say. Apparently I hadn't found them because he turned a dark shade of red.

"Like I said Doc, nothing I haven't seen before." He shook his head, willing the color that spread across his face to go away. Thankfully, there was a knock on the door. Saved by the bell.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Parker, you must be Zoe." The young doctor reached out and shook my hand.

"And Daddy, I presume?"

"Uh, yeah. Wade, nice to meet you." He shook her hand too before she sat down and took some papers out of a folder.

"Alright, so I know you called because you had a bunch of positive pregnancy tests, and they ran that along with a few other tests on your blood, so let's check that out." She flipped some of her papers around.

"So, the blood test came back positive, congratulations." She smiled and we both smiled back at her.

"So Zoe, what prompted you to take a test?" She looked up from her papers.

"Well, I'm a doctor also, so I don't know why I didn't really recognize the signs at first, but I had been sick a few times, and some headaches here and there, but really, it wasn't until I was looking at my calendar that I realized I was late."

"So this wasn't planned?" She asked, jotting down her notes.

"No, not really." I chuckled a bit.

"Hey, some of the happiest people I know have babies that weren't planned." She smiled at us again, which was reassuring.

"So, any other symptoms? Bloating? Constipation? Mood swings?"

"No, just the nausea, vomiting, headaches, and dizziness." She nodded, but didn't look up from her notes.

"Any previous pregnancies?"

"No."

"Any history of sexually transmitted infections or diseases for either of you?" I had to smile at that one, I said no, but looked to Wade, who emphasized no.

"Alright, and family medical history?"

"My biological dad died of pancreatic cancer when he was 68, but that's all there is on my side." I looked to Wade.

"My mom died when she was 30 from Breast Cancer, and my paternal grandfather died of a heart attack when he was in his 50s."

"Alright, any existing or past medical conditions?" We both shook our head no.

"First day of your last period?"

"April 11." I explained, seeing as it was June 26, which would put me at about 2 and a half months pregnant.

"Estimated date of conception?"

"We're positive the date of conception was April 21." Wade said and I laughed.

"Alright, so that would put your due date at February 14. A valentine's day baby." She smiled, looking at the two of us. Wade's smile grew bigger.

"Okay, so let's get started then. Your blood test shows no abnormalities, so let's get to the physical exam. Since you're 10 weeks, let's try a sonogram first and see if we can get anything." She set up the machine as I slid my shorts back on and hopped up on the table. I slid my gown up and exposed my stomach. She put the gel on my stomach and turned the machine on. The screen was really blurry and she moved it around for a few minutes before finally a sound overcame the room.

"There's the heartbeat." She said, still moving the wand around. I looked over to Wade and he had a huge smile on his face and a few tears in his eyes, but they weren't falling.

"…and there's your baby." She smiled, pointing to a small dot on the screen.

"Wow, that's amazing. He's so little." I once again found myself rolling my eyes at his apparent 'knowing' that our baby was going to be a boy. Dr. Parker left the room to get our pictures of the sonogram and let me get dressed. I did so and we walked out and met her in her office.

"Here you go, and make an appointment next month with the receptionist. I'll see you two then." We shook her hand and made an appointment at the receptionist's desk for next month.

We walked out to Wade's car and we sat there for a few minutes looking at the pictures.

"Wow, I just can't believe it. I mean saying you're pregnant is one thing, but actually seeing it is another thing. Wow, just…" Wade said.

"I know, at first I wasn't too sure about this whole thing, but now, seeing it is just totally different…" I said amazed. His hand grabbed mine and he squeezed it.

"I can't believe we're going to do this." He looked at me smiling. I smiled back and nodded, holding his hand. He didn't let it go, so I didn't either. We rode the whole way home that way.


End file.
